Inland Spain and its country houses
Luxury hotels in Inland Spain
6 hotels
Abadía Retuerta LeDomaine
Five-star · Ribera del Duero
A twelfth-century abbey on its own wine estate in the Ribera del Duero, made a contemporary hotel by Marco Serra.
From $700 per night
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Terra Dominicata
Five-star · Priorat
A twelfth-century Carthusian monastery turned hotel and winery in the foothills of the Montsant, in the Priorat.
From $500 per night
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Torre del Marqués
Five-star · Matarraña
A restored eighteenth-century tower among the olive groves and vineyards of the Matarraña, between Barcelona and Valencia.
From $500 per night
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Atrio
Five-star · Cáceres
A restaurant with modern rooms in a stone façade, inside the walled city of Cáceres, in Extremadura.
From $600 per night
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Canfranc Estación, a Royal Hideaway Hotel
Four-star · Aragon Pyrenees
A hotel that quite literally occupies the ornate international railway station of 1928 at Canfranc, in the Aragonese Pyrenees.
From $400 per night
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Mas de Torrent
Four-star · Empordà
An eighteenth-century farmhouse of honey-colored stone in the Empordà, ten minutes from the Costa Brava.
From $500 per night
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Between Madrid and Barcelona, and well beyond them, Spain keeps its finest country houses where the wine and the stone are. Six houses: a twelfth-century abbey on a wine estate of the Ribera del Duero, an hour and a half north of Madrid; a Carthusian monastery in the foothills of the Montsant, two hours west of Barcelona in the Priorat; an eighteenth-century tower among olive groves in the Matarraña of Teruel; a restaurant with rooms inside the walled city of Cáceres, in Extremadura; the international railway station of 1928 at Canfranc, in the Aragonese Pyrenees; and a farmhouse of honey-colored stone in the Empordà, ten minutes from the Costa Brava. Four of the six hold the territory's strict five-star standing and two sit a tier below, as four-star houses. Spring and autumn are the seasons, the harvest of September and October above all; the Pyrenees add the snow and the Empordà the sea.
The neighborhoods
Ribera del Duero
The wine country of the Duero north of Madrid, with an abbey among the vines. It takes in Sardón de Duero, Peñafiel and Valladolid, about an hour and a half from the capital by road.
Priorat
The mountain wine country of Tarragona and its Carthusian monastery, two hours west of Barcelona. Escaladei and the Montsant natural park are here.
Matarraña
The olive groves and vineyards of eastern Teruel, between Barcelona and Valencia. Monroyo and the villages of the Matarraña sit on the inland side of the range.
Aragon Pyrenees
The high valleys of Huesca, with the rocky mountainsides of the Pyrenees as the backdrop. Here lie Canfranc, Jaca and the international station of 1928.
Empordà
The farmland behind the Costa Brava, ten minutes from the sea and an easy drive from Barcelona or Toulouse. It takes in Torrent, Pals and the villages of the Baix Empordà.
Good to know
Which are the five-star hotels in Inland Spain?
Four five-star houses and two four-star. The five-star hotels we list in Inland Spain are Abadía Retuerta LeDomaine, the twelfth-century abbey on a wine estate of the Ribera del Duero; Terra Dominicata, the Carthusian monastery and winery in the foothills of the Montsant, in the Priorat; Torre del Marqués, the restored eighteenth-century tower among the olive groves of the Matarraña; and Atrio, the restaurant with rooms inside the walled city of Cáceres. The four-star tier holds Canfranc Estación, a Royal Hideaway Hotel, in the international railway station of 1928 in the Aragonese Pyrenees, and Mas de Torrent, the eighteenth-century farmhouse of the Empordà, ten minutes from the Costa Brava.
Where should I stay in Inland Spain: the Duero, the Priorat, the Matarraña, Cáceres, the Pyrenees or the Empordà?
For wine, the Ribera del Duero — Abadía Retuerta LeDomaine is about an hour and a half north of Madrid by road, with its own vineyards, winery and starred restaurant — or the Priorat, where Terra Dominicata is two hours west of Barcelona in the Montsant mountains. For a quiet farmhouse escape, Torre del Marqués in the Matarraña, between Barcelona and Valencia. For the city and the table, Atrio in Cáceres, about three hours west of Madrid, with a walled city at the door. For the mountains, Canfranc Estación in the Pyrenees, a summer and a winter destination. For the sea within reach, Mas de Torrent in the Empordà, an easy drive from Barcelona or Toulouse and ten minutes from the Costa Brava.
When is the best time for Inland Spain?
Spring and autumn. The vineyards of the Duero and the Priorat are green in May and June and turn gold with the harvest in September and October, the finest weeks of the year for the wine estates; the Matarraña and Cáceres are at their best from March to June and from September to November, because the summer heat inland is real; the Pyrenees at Canfranc sell the summer for walking and the snow from December to March; the Empordà is the mildest of the six, with the Costa Brava minutes away from May to October. Each house keeps its own calendar on its page.
How do I get around Inland Spain?
By car, with a driver if you wish: the six houses are country houses and a car is the way between the vineyards, the villages and the sea. Abadía Retuerta is reached from Madrid by road in about an hour and a half; Terra Dominicata from Barcelona in about two hours; Torre del Marqués from Barcelona or Valencia; Atrio from Madrid in about three hours, or by train to Cáceres; Canfranc by road from Zaragoza or by the mountain train line to its own station; Mas de Torrent from Barcelona or Girona in about an hour. The houses arrange station and airport transfers on request.
How do I reserve a stay?
Search your dates on the hotel's page to see reference rates, then send the concierge a request. The concierge confirms exact rates and availability with you before anything is booked, and any payment and its timing are set out before you confirm.
